C&RT Carpenters Road Lock Engagement - Official Site · PDF fileREPORT on the Community Engagement and Consultation about Carpenters Road Lock For The Canal and River Trust August

REPORT

on the Community Engagement and Consultation

about Carpenters Road Lock

For The Canal and River Trust

August 2013

The Kaizen Partnership Ltd. - Training and Consultancy [email protected], www.kzpartnership.com

22a Cliff Villas, London NW1 9AT, Tel 020 8133 1089, Fax 020 8642 6107 Registered in England & Wales no. 4007786 VAT no. 756 6412 14

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Context .................................................................................................................................3

About Kaizen ........................................................................................................................3

Targets and Aims .................................................................................................................4

Definition of Community....................................................................................................4

Engagement aims.............................................................................................................4

Framing the research questions .......................................................................................5

Targets..............................................................................................................................5

Our Approach and Methodology ..........................................................................................6

Phases of the Engagement and Research .......................................................................6

Methodology .....................................................................................................................7

Questionnaire design........................................................................................................8

Where we sampled ...........................................................................................................9

Headline statistics ..............................................................................................................10

Who we sampled with ........................................................................................................11

Addressing the Research Questions..................................................................................15

Limitations.......................................................................................................................15

To what extent is there local interest in the heritage of the River and CRL?..................16

Is there community interest in co-producing the future of CRL and in what areas might they like to be involved? .................................................................................................23

What are the barriers to people getting involved in the Waterways?..............................25

What education needs/agendas could CRL satisfy/support? .........................................28

What training and skill development needs are there in respect to the community involvement in the CRL redevelopment?........................................................................29

What is their current river usage and knowledge of the heritage?..................................31

What facilities and resources might different user groups want as part of the CRL community space?..........................................................................................................33

Is there interest in being part of existing volunteering schemes and what would motivate people to do this? ...........................................................................................................35

How would community members and schools like to learn about the CRL and the local waterways heritage (e.g. events, apps, resources, walking tours, boat tours)? .............38

Other data ..........................................................................................................................40

In Conclusion….. ................................................................................................................42

Appendix 1 – The Survey Questionnaire............................................................................43



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Context

Kaizen were contracted to design and deliver an engagement and consultation process with community members within a 2-mile radius of Carpenters Road Lock (CRL).

No project or initiative exists in isolation. Any truly successful project must be crafted from the specific local and strategic context it arises from; it must be designed with a view to achieving clear outcomes while also be responsive to emerging and evolving need. For this reason we believe it is vital to identify and place any project in its’ correct context as this then informs every aspect of its’ design and delivery.

It was our understanding that the following are some of the key aspects of context that shaped this engagement and consultation.

The requirement to assess need via an initial community engagement in order to support any funding applications to secure the necessary funds to renovate the Carpenter’s Road Lock. In particular the feedback from the recent Heritage Lottery Bid highlighted that this was an aspect of the original proposal that needed to be improved, if the re-submitted bid would hope to be successful.

The stated aspirations and commitments of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) in respect to engaging local community members to see the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as “their park” and to have them involved in the development process and the ongoing operation and life of the Park.

The fact that the Bow Back Rivers have been inaccessible for a number of years during Olympic construction and that their previous run down state will bear little relation to their now regenerated condition. This means that there are no current users of this part of the canal and that past users would have had an experience and usage that is out of step with the future of that area.

The transition from British Waterways, to the Canal and River Trust (CRT) which involves the forging of much closer relationships and partnerships between the CRT and the communities that use the waterways and live in proximity to the waterways (whether current users or potential future users). The accessing and unlocking of local resources will play an increasing role in the successful future development and management of the Waterways network.

About Kaizen

Kaizen is a flexible, innovative and results driven social business that specialises in designing, delivering and facilitating cutting edge projects. We deliver work across the community sector including the areas of regeneration, education, employment, housing and the social care field. We are passionate about what we do, and we stand by our results. Everything we do is focused on making a difference: empowering individuals, teams and communities. We have worked with organisations ranging from Local Authorities to schools, small charities to Premier League Football clubs, international companies to the London 2012 Olympics. We were honoured to have been able to contribute over the past years as an official “Supplier of youth empowerment & community engagement training & consultancy to the London 2012 Games.” We were a part of the very select group of only .04% of all UK companies that were directly contracted by the Olympic organisations; and we have been contracted to deliver 8 different Olympic projects over a 5-year period, on behalf of the ODA, LOCOG, LLDC and 2 of the 5 host Borough 2012 teams.



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We are very proud that in our 13 years of work, across an extraordinary diversity of programmes and sectors, every project has been delivered within the agreed time and budget has met or exceeded the intended results. In the past year alone we have completed 74 projects for 34 different clients. In the past 3 years we have successfully delivered 163 projects for 94 different clients. Current and recent clients include: London 2012, LLDC, The Local Government Association, The Government of Bermuda, Royal Institute for Public Administration, Poplar HARCA, Cause4, Action for Children, Nando’s, RNIB, NHS Confederation Research Network, Fulham FC, The Tutu Foundation, Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts.

Targets and Aims

Definition of Community In consultation with project partners it was decided that the community would be defined as anyone who lived, worked, studied or had an interest in the area. This is a definition of community that includes the full range of people who could be connected to the area. The advantage of this definition is that it gives a much richer and fuller response from the actual community, rather than just hearing from residents.

Engagement aims The project had clearly defined aims that were developed in collaboration with CRT and LLDC. We divided the aims into “direct” and “additional” aims.

Direct Aims

Have a representative selection of the community give their views on the idea of restoring the CRL/ and the area around it for potential community use (what ideas do they have about these likely uses for this area given the space available etc)

Actively engage less heard groups within the wider community Assess local perception of interest / appetite for the renovation of CRL and the

development of a community space there Assess level of interest in the local river heritage and CRL To build up a list of people who would be interested in being involved in the ongoing

development process (steering group, online panels, volunteering) Identify barriers to people getting involved Identify which school education needs and agendas the CRL/Community Space

development could support and provide information to feed into the Learning Trails project.

Additional Aims

Raise awareness about the Olympic Park, The Waterways and the Bow BackRivers Assess current river usage (How much they use waterways, where for what, when etc) Identify training and support needs in respect of community participation and use of the

Waterways Collect contact info for people interested in volunteering on the Waterways

We also aimed to promote the following messages:



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Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is starting to open from July 29th 2013. There is a series of big summer events taking place. The landscaped north park area, river

banks, Timber lodge cafe and play area will be open and free for people to come and use from the end of July on non-event days.

Framing the research questions Before beginning any research project it is vital to identify and correctly frame the key research questions. This then allows the development of a research protocol that sets out how the methodology and data sources will achieve the research aims. Our approach is to frame research questions in 2 categories: primary and secondary research questions, as this gives scope to broaden the enquiry into areas of interest that would get ignored by focussing only on the primary questions, and maximising the research input. Sitting above the primary and secondary research questions are the overarching contextual questions that frame the whole process. The research questions for the project were defined in collaboration with CRT and LLDC staff, as follows:

Contextual Question:

To what extent is there local need/desire for the renovation of CRL and the development of a community space there?

Primary Research Questions

To what extent is there local interest in the heritage of the River and CRL? Is there community interest in co-producing the future of CRL and in what areas might they

like to be involved? What are the barriers to this people getting involved in the Waterways in this area? What education needs/agendas could CRL satisfy/support?

Secondary Research Questions

What training and skill development needs are there in respect to the community involvement in the CRL redevelopment?

What is their current river usage and knowledge of the heritage? What facilities and resources might different user groups want as part of the CRL

community space? Is there interest in being part of existing volunteering schemes and what would motivate

people to do this? How would community members and schools like to learn about the CRL and the local

waterways heritage (eg events, apps, resources, walking tours, boat tours)?

Targets The targets for the research and consultation were as follows:

Minimum of 500 people consulted with face to face 6 Primary Schools



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3 Secondary Schools 2 Universities 1 cultural/other focus group 15 street focus groups Street engagement within 2 miles of the Carpenters Road Lock Broadly even split between Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets

Our Approach and Methodology

Phases of the Engagement and Research

There were 3 clear phases to the project: 1. Design and Development 2. Engagement and Consultation 3. Analysis and Reporting

Phase 1 - Design and Development Phase – Early June

Initial scoping and co-design meeting with CRT to get clear on the intentions and outcomes of the research

Scoping and design meeting with LLDC Drafting, discussion and agreement on the protocol and key research questions Agreement of key aims and targets Identification of particular sub-groups that may be harder to reach Development of a coherent engagement narrative and structure for the research as a whole Development of the interview protocols and all survey instruments Development of the engagement and outreach plans Agreement on communication and reporting approach and systems. Establishment of the timeline and key dates for delivery of specific outputs Agreement on mix of research methodologies Development of online survey instruments Setting up the Kaizen team

Phase 2 –Engagement and Consultation Phase – Mid June – Mid July

Field test and refinement of the questionnaire. The consultation process delivered by Kaizen team members using the agreed

methodologies. This included a combination of targeted outreach, focus groups, key informant interviews, online questionnaires, and phone interviews.

Specific work to engage with schools and Universities

Phase 3 - Reporting Phase – End July/Early August

Analysis of all the data Hand coding and identification of key themes from focus groups and open questions A full report written and submitted to CRT Debrief meeting to discuss findings



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Methodology In order to provide rich data with a high degree of reliability we used a variety of different methodologies in our consultation and research.

Face to face interviews with community members o 423 individual one on one interviews were conducted, using a standard

questionnaire as the format o The questionnaire contained a mixture of closed and open questions and took about

10 minutes to complete o The engagement was conducted by 3 highly experienced Kaizen contractors who

are experts in community engagement o Surveys took place at different times of day, on different days of the week and in

different parts of the 3 Boroughs, within 2 miles of the lock o All data from the questionnaires was uploaded to Survey Monkey enabling the data

to be analysed with multiple filters, and meaning that a full digital record was part of the outputs.

Street focus groups with young people o We have pioneered a form of focus group that we call “street focus groups”. This is

a methodology that we use to have broad discussions with people who are not typically accessible through a traditional focus group approach, such as groups of teenagers on the street, families in the park or parents outside a primary school.

o These street focus groups were group conversations on different themes that were held in the community. They had the flavour of an informal chat, and the interviewer would write up the themes following the conversation.

o They ranged in time from 10-20 minutes o There were 23 street focus groups conducted o 132 community members participated in the street focus groups o responses from the street focus groups were hand coded for key themes o

Online questionnaire for CRT networks

o The same questionnaire that was being fielded in the community was also emailed out to people who Mark Blackwell identified as being local stakeholders within the CRT existing networks

o The aim of this was to ensure that those people who had already been engaged in past activities were informed of the consultation process and given the opportunity to be involved/

o 7 people completed the online questionnaire

Key informant interviews with educationalists o In order to access schools to assess their needs and potential for involvement,

semi-structured interviews were conducted. o 7 schools (4 primary and 3 secondary) participated in this process o Interviews lasted for approximately 15-25 minutes o 1 University (UEL) was also engaged and a longer interview was conducted with

Toby Butler, Lecturer School of Arts and Digital Industries,

Focus group with stakeholders o A traditional style formal focus group was held with stakeholders. o The focus group was appropriately conducted on a boat with a special trip into the

QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK arranged for this purpose. o CRT invited local stakeholders to attend and there were 19 people on the focus

group representing public sector and third sector organisations as well as representatives of CRT and LLDC as well as community members and boaters.



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The following table illustrates how the different methodologies combined with the research questions to form the research protocol.

Qu O-Qu Int SFG FG

Primary Research Questions

To what extent is there local interest in the heritage of the River and CRL?

Y Y Y Y Y

Is there community interest in co-producing the future of CRL and in what areas might they like to be involved?

Y Y Y Y Y

What are the barriers to this people getting involved in the Waterways in this area?

Y Y Y Y Y

What education needs/agendas could CRL satisfy/support? Y

What training and skill development needs are there in respect to the community involvement in the CRL redevelopment?

Y Y Y Y Y

Secondary Research Questions

What is their current river usage and knowledge of the heritage?

Y Y

What facilities and resources might different user groups want as part of the CRL community space?

Y Y Y Y Y

Is there interest in being part of existing volunteering schemes and what would motivate people to do this?

Y Y

How would community members and schools like to learn about the CRL and the local waterways heritage (eg events, apps, resources, walking tours, boat tours)?

Y Y Y Y Y

QU – Questionnaire O-QU – Online Questionnaire Int – Interviews with Educationalists SFG – Street Focus Group FG – Focus Group

Questionnaire design The questionnaire was designed to be able to be completed in about 10 minutes and to take the respondent through a conversation creating relationship, to bring out the key consultation areas as well as other information (capitalising on the process). The draft questionnaire was shared with the project partners and their suggestions for changes and alterations fed into the final design. The questionnaire contained a mixture of open and closed questions and was designed to bring out the direct and indirect consultation information in a relationship building process. An initial round of pilot interviews was conducted to field test the questionnaire. As a result, interview questions were fine-tuned.



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A series of open questions were crafted for the street focus groups and the interviews with the schools. These linked to the key research areas as identified in the research protocol.

Where we sampled

We talked with people from all walks of life and in all kinds of places, from families in the park, to heads of schools and a University lecturer, business people and community leaders. Locations for interviews included:

On the street On the canal and river side Inside the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK On the Greenway Street Markets Community centres Job Centre Primary School Parks On boat trip into the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK In housing estates Shops In Westfield In the Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford Picture House Café’s, restaurants, pubs and fast food places Fetes/Music Festival Bus stops and train stations (including outside the station)



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Headline statistics

423 Individual Interviews 132 people participated in street focus groups 19 people attended the stakeholder focus group 574 people involved in the consultation Staff from 7 schools and 1 University were interviewed Age range of respondents: from 9 – 80+ Sampling range in times of day: from 8.30am to 9pm Sampling range, days of week: all days of the week 24% were under age 24 47% male and 53% female 53% lived in the area, 26% worked there, 6% studied and 15% had another sort of

connection 19% had lived there less than 1 year, 18% had been there 5-10 years and 21% over 20

years 59% employed, 21% not employed, 11% students, 7% retired 10% said they considered themselves to have a disability 249 people gave us their contact info wanting to be passed to CRT or LLDC or both 56% of individuals said their views had not been consulted at all before, and a further

34% said a little or not much in influencing the redevelopment of CRL and a further 25% said they would possibly like to

be involved lack of time was by far the biggest barrier to involvement with 70% saying this 57% said they would like to receive updates about future developments and opportunities 18% were currently volunteering and 47% had volunteered in the past. 35% had never

volunteered before 6% had volunteered as part of a Waterways project before Current knowledge of local history and heritage is low – 47% said they either know nothing

or not much and a further 32% said they only know a little 20% of the respondents were regular users of the waterways and 46% did not use them at

all. 12% did not even know there was any river/canal in the area 40% of those sampled had been to the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK – the

majority during Games time. 39% were not really aware of where the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK was and

20% did not know what the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK was 76% said they thought it was important for people to be aware of and

appreciate local history and heritage (54% said it was very important) 71% said they would like to be able to find out about the history and

heritage of the local area 86% said they thought the idea to redevelop the lock and create a

community space would be of benefit to the local area and local people (66% said it would definitely be of benefit)

27% said they would definitely like to find out more about how they could be involved



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Who we sampled with

The people who we interviewed represented the broad diversity of East London. The following is demographic data about the group:

Connection to the area o There was a range of connection which was appropriate given the definition of

community 53% live in the area 26% work in the area 6% study in the area 15% have some other connection to the area

Length of time connected to the area

o There was a pretty even spread from new arrivals to very long standing residents



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Ethnicity o Those interviews came from a wide range of cultures

Gender

o 47% male and 53% female

Age o The sample came from a range of ages with the youngest being 9 years old o 24% were under age 24 o 39% age 25-39 o 27% age 40-59 o 10% over age 60



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Disability

o 10% said they considered themselves to have a disability o 3% said “rather not say”

Employment status

o 42% full time work and 17% part time work o 7% retired o 21% not currently working o 11% student o 3% didn’t want to say o there was very little variation by gender in respect to work status



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Extent to which their views had been consulted before o A minority had been consulted with before (3% said a lot and 7% said quite a bit) o Most people said they had not been consulted with before

18% said not much 56% said not at all

o There was very little variation by gender in terms of this question



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Addressing the Research Questions

In the following sections we will summarise the data from the survey and themes from the focus groups and interviews in respect to each research question. Not every question was addressed in all methodologies (see the Protocol page 8).

Limitations

In reviewing the conclusions drawn based on the results of the analysis, it is important to consider the potential limitations of this study. The sampling was purposive in that interviewees were aiming to interview a representative range of the population in the area. However, the fact that the total sample size was big provides confidence in the overall findings and we know from the interviewers that a very diverse selection of the community were engaged.

The following are important things to bear in mind in terms of the sample for this report:

The refusal rate was approximately 1 in 4. It is possible that the people who responded are

a select group of individuals. The sample, while large, was not large enough to make iron clad conclusions about

behaviours or beliefs of individual demographics even though because of the consistency of responses we do believe they have a high degree of validity.

We engaged with 7 schools and that does not give a basis to conclude that all schools would agree with the responses from these schools.



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To what extent is there local interest in the heritage of the River and CRL? There is very clear and strong interest across pretty much all sections of the community in the heritage of the river and CRL. Despite mostly no prior knowledge of the lock, interest and enthusiasm to renovate the lock and develop the community space was very high. We asked several questions in the survey that linked to this research question:

Have you ever heard of Carpenters Road Lock? There is an idea to repair the Lock and develop a multi-use “community space” either side

of it. Do you think that this would be of benefit to the area and local people? How important do you think it is for people to be aware of and appreciate local history &

heritage? Would you like to be able to find out more about the history of the local area? Which topics about the local area could be of interest?

Had they heard of carpenters road lock? 75% had never heard of the lock There was strong variation by age: 9% of 16-24 yr olds had heard of it, compared to 23%

of 25-39 yr olds, 35% of 40-59 yr olds and 50% of over 60’s

What did they think of the idea to repair the lock and develop a multi-use community space either side – did they think this would be of benefit to local area and people?

96% said yes, they thought it would benefit local people. (66% said definitely, 20% said probably, 8% said possibly)

The positive response was consistent across age, gender and length of time in the area only 6% thought no (3% said not much benefit and 3% said no benefit at all) comments included: “100%” : “as long as the community benefits”: “sounds fantastic”

“would be a great place to relax by” “ensure local people have the opportunity to be involved”



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There was only minor variation by age

There was very little variation by gender: 68.2% of women and 68.1% of men said definitely There was not major variation based on length of time in the area



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How important do you think it is for people to be aware of and appreciate local history & heritage?

There was a strong belief across the community that this was important 87% said they thought it was important

o 54% said it was very important, 22% said quite important and 11% said a little important

Only 12% thought it was not important (6% said not really important and 6% said not at all important)

There was some variation by age with older people thinking it is more important

o For example, 63% of 40-59 yr olds thought it was very important, compared to 40% of 16-24 yr olds



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There was very little variation by gender There was some variation by length of time connected to the area, with those there longer

thinking it more important

Would you like to be able to find out more about the history of the local area?

There was a very clear majority interested in the history of the local area o 71% said yes they would like to be able to find out more about the local history

There was some variation by age, e.g.: 82% of 25-39 yr olds said yes, compared to 59% of 16-24 yr olds



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There was very little variation by gender (75% of men and 69% of women said yes) There was strong interest in this from people however long they have been in area, eg:

64% of people who had been there less than one year said yes compared to 70% of people who had been there 1 to 3 years and 76% of people who had been there 5 to 10 years

Which topics about the local area could be of interest?

267 people answered this question o 74% said the rivers and canals, 73% said local heritage, 56% said architecture and

42% said industrial use



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There was some variation by age (e.g. 84% of 40-59 yr olds said they were interested in the river and canals as compared to 66% of 16-24 yr olds who said that)

There was only small variation by gender

o 77% of men and 74% of women said the rivers and canals o 68% of men and 76% of women said local heritage



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Education Providers:

All schools expressed the view that there was strong interest in the heritage of the area and that this could be creatively tied in to aspects of learning within the new National Curriculum (2014):

British history is appealing and the schools are looking for cross-curricular projects across D&T, Art, History, and Science.

Another school said they would be interested in education packages around the geography of the area; how it’s changed – use of canals; trade; how waterways have changed. Children do not currently have any understanding of what the river does or how it links up.

One teacher said this: “I recently went on a boat trip along the Regent’s Canal and was inspired by that experience so this sounds great and school would like to be involved in if this develops. School would seize opportunities for students to find out about the waterways and the history of the canals”

Toby Buter from UEL identified “Huge need” for the local history to be brought out and

that there are lots of great “stories to tell”. The river side is a great environment to explore “industrial history”. He would be “delighted to be involved” moving forward and believes there would definitely be interest from students of different departments, as well as faculty in making use of the space.

Street Focus Groups: There was a mixed response about the interest in local history and an expressed need to know what benefits this would bring. There was a lack of knowledge about the history so more readily accessible information may be needed to ignite interest:

Strong need for local involvement, as people ownership enhances long-term quality and use of designed space.

Whether local people would be interested depends on the benefits, outcomes and needs of specific groups, and so wide engagement is best at all community hubs

CRT Focus Group: There was a very clear consensus that heritage is very important and of interest to people; there is a need to “bring heritage into the present” and bring it alive. Some significant points were made as follows:

This was traditionally a working area so many people worked here and became deeply a part of the community because of the strength of work ties – “employer was your life” - there is a genuine “depth and range of heritage”

At 3 mills they have done lots of consultation and were “staggered and humbled by the interest in heritage from old residents and new arrivals”

It’s important to think of Heritage with a capital ‘H’ and heritage with a small ‘h’ which is people’s personal heritage – their memories, stories

There is a sense of anxiety in the community that in amongst so much change that their histories will be eroded

There was mention how walking tours from Bow are very popular and indicate real interest from a wide range of people



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Is there community interest in co-‐producing the future of CRL and in what areas might they like to be involved? There is interest in the community in being a part of the project moving forward. Without concrete opportunities for people to make an informed choice to be involved, the conversations about this were more scoping and theoretical, but it does seem clear there would be a significant potential to genuinely co-produce the redevelopment and management of the space at CRL. We asked several questions in the survey that linked to this research question:

Would they like to find out more about how they could be involved in influencing the redevelopment of CRL and the future community space?

Would they like to receive updates about future developments and opportunities? Would they give us their contact info to pass to CRT and/or LLDC?

Would they like to find out more about how they could be involved in influencing the redevelopment of CRL and the future community space?

52% said they would like to find out more (27% said definitely yes and 25% said possibly – they would need more information)

There was some variation by age

There was very little variation by gender (eg: 28% of men said yes definitely and 27% said

possibly compared to 26% and 24% respectively for women)



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Would they like to receive updates about future developments and opportunities?

The majority (57%) said Yes to this question Would they give us their contact info to pass to CRT and/or LLDC?

Substantial numbers chose to give their contact info which indicates definite desire and support

o 67% of those participating in individual interviewes (285 people) gave their contact details (249 people gave their email address, 125 people gave their phone number, 111 people gave their address)

o 199 people said they were happy to have their details passed to CRT o 153 people said they were happy to have their details passed to LLDC

Other comments

o “brilliant idea, totally amazing”; “found interview useful” o Works for hackney learning trust – “I think things to do for kids and young children

would be nice. A functional space for doing things” o “It’s very good that you are asking for input into the project. Keep up the good work!” o “I’d love to be trained to go on the boats” o “paid jobs as guides would be good. I’m good at events and talking in public” o “there are a lot of people out there with real experience of the area and a desire to

contribute” Education Providers All expressed a general interest of being involved in the design and future of the CRL but could not all specify how, needing to know more about the practicalities and scope of involvement:

A head teacher of a primary school said he would like to get involved in creating a Camden-lock type feel as this sounds an inspiring opportunity; It could be “exciting, challenging, creative, appealing to all budgets and types of people, the laid back feel is great.” He thinks it needs more than a historical ‘sell’ to kids and suggested activities like the basement of the Science Museum which is interactive and ‘zingy, zappy’; perhaps outdoor gym and would like to be involved.

One teacher suggested creating an ‘environmental group’ in schools to link up together around this project and a ‘teacher’s working party’, as well as a steering group of local people, schools and children. In principle, this is something exciting that the school would like to be part of.

Toby Butler suggested contacting Neal Herrington, Cass School of Education, UEL, as

he is part of the field studies council and is already involved in discussions around the idea of a field base in the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK.



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What are the barriers to people getting involved in the Waterways? There are general themes in terms of the potential barriers, both in terms of community use of the waterways and involvement in CRL redevelopment and community space. We asked several questions in the survey that related to this research question. They were:

What things get in the way of making more use of the rivers/canals (in general)? What could stop them from being involved in influencing the project?

What things get in the way of making more use of the rivers/canals (in general)?

We offered several possible barriers, as well as leaving it open for people to suggest their own ideas.

lack of time was the top barrier at 41% 35% said they didn’t know what’s possible to do 16% said didn’t know where to get on and off 22% said safety concerns

By far the top “other” barrier was the cyclists

o “too many cyclists” o “cyclists need to be better managed” o “aggressive cyclists”

Safety concerns were mentioned: “walking after dark unsafe” There was only small variation by age There was not major variation based on length of time in the area

What could stop them from being involved in influencing the project?

A number of options were given, as well as people being encouraqged to talk abtout the issue and suggest their own ideas

Lack of time by far the highest barrier – 70% of people said this



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Relationships with professionals was a significant factor for some people, with 9% saying attitude of professionals and 10% saying they didn’t trust the people who make decisions

15% said don’t know what’s possible which is a significant percentage and indicates need to promote opportunities heavily

6% said lack of confidence, indicating that some support for people to boost confidence would be of benefit

6% worried it could impact their benefits, which will need addressing in order to engage unemployed people to be involved

17% said lack of interest which for us still represents an opportunity as by providing more information and linking to wider sets of motivation it could be possible to engage these people to be involved

There was very little variation by gender

Education providers

Everyone we spoke to expressed the same concerns regarding barriers to involvement, which are principally:

Safety, safeguarding, risk assessments; being confident the students will be safe Time to make this work and pressure on staff Cost in getting to CRL and releasing staff Ensuring the trips and involvement is relevant to curriculum Toby Butler highlighted the fact that for students at University to be involved, lecturers

would need sufficient lead time to be able to incorporate visits into curriculum and course outlines

Street Focus Group

There was a general concern over prices, over gentrification or tourism so local involvement is out priced as well as drugs, alcohol and violence on canals such a robbery’s. Other comments include:

• Lacking in design to accommodate all types of disability



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• Opportunities under publicised • Lack of trust in authority due to broken promises

CRT Focus Groups: The group felt that the experience for many locals of last 7 years of construction has been of physical barriers. This means that there will be work needed to overcome the psychological barriers to entering the place once the physical barriers come down. In addition, formal volunteering can be a barrier to people who want to do ad-hoc volunteering. The group also raised the issues of the affordability of activities and events.



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What education needs/agendas could CRL satisfy/support? Schools had many ideas for how CRL could support and satisfy school agendas, in particular with the launch of the new National Curriculum, there is a need to find creative local projects to inspire and interest the students. Most schools would like to be presented with education packages that they could adapt to suit their needs:

One teacher said he would consider it for Gifted and Talented learners in the first instance and given the new curriculum is very straight-laced and prescriptive, he is looking for creative projects for his pupils and “this sounds a fantastic creative project”

If it’s linked to new curriculum that comes out in 2014 (see draft 8th August 2013) and it’s promoted like that and how it has changed over time then it would bring people in. We want children to want to know ‘what did Anglo – Saxons do for us?’ Schools need a link to learning outcomes.

Would prefer to have education package prepared for them that linked to different key stage learning needs and cross-cut subjects

All schools recognised the value of Learning Outside the Classroom and thought that resources linked to visits to the park and the lock could be a fantastic teaching tool for local schools

Toby Butler from UEL noted that “students always need real projects to work on” and that it could be possible to link in with PHD students from different departments



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What training and skill development needs are there in respect to the community involvement in the CRL redevelopment? There was general majority belief that the most important area for training and support was in knowledge of local history, however a wide range of other training and support was thought to be of benefit. It is one thing to be presented with an opportunity to be involved in a project like this, but quite another to have the skills and resources to be able to take advantage of it and have it be a positive experience. It was mentioned earlier for example that 6% had said that lack of confidence was a barrier for them. We asked 1 question in the survey that linked to this research question: Did they think that providing training in the following areas could help encourage local people to become involved?

o 62% said knowledge of local history o 42% said public speaking o 43% said events management o 32% said project management o 30% said health and safety o 36% said confidence building o 34% said first aid o 36% said tour guiding o 38% said boat skipper/crew training o There was some variation by gender, e.g. women more likely to say confidence

building (39% as compared to 31%) and men were more likely to say boat skipper/crew training (44% as compared to 34%)



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Street Focus Group: People felt that all forms of training for local people should be encouraged and they offered many innovative and enthusiastic ideas for skills training as follows:

Renewable training, local development, large scale projects, street/waterway cleansing and horticulture

Leadership and senior management jobs Practical skills training, skills for life and self-employment careers Young and unemployed people trained for free with skills relevant for the future

infrastructure Apprenticeships and work placements working with the job centres longer-term Health care and caring for the elderly and other people, nurse and carer training Training to give a stronger local connection to the area Partner with existing local groups to offer training in horticulture, engineering and business

studies, jewellery making Harmonisation, diversity and multiculturalism training and inter-racial integration



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What is their current river usage and knowledge of the heritage? We asked several questions in the survey that linked to this research question. They were:

How aware are you of the local rivers and canals? How much do you currently use the river/canal in this area? In which of the following ways do you use the rivers, canals or towpaths? How much do you feel that you know about the history of the local area and the rivers or

canals? Awareness of the local rivers and canals

Given the proximity of the river/canal to all the survey locations, a substantial number of people were not aware of their existence

There was a reasonable awareness from 35% of the people (16% said they were very aware, 19% said quite aware and 25% said they were only a little aware)

40% said they were not aware (16% said not really aware and 24% not at all aware) There was quite significant variation by age, e.g. 43% of 16-24 yr olds were not at all

aware, compared to 18% of 25-39 yr olds and 15% of 40-59 yr olds There was some variation based on length of time in the area e.g. 27% of those who had

been in the area more than 20 years said they either were not really (14%) or not at all (13%) aware of the local rivers and canals. This compares with 43% of people who had been there 1-3 years of whom 29% said they were not at all aware.

How much do you currently use the river/canal in this area?

There was a real range from daily users to people who didn’t even know they existed 20% were regular users (8% daily and 12% weekly) 10% said monthly 24% said a few times a year 46% did not use the rivers and canals (34% said never and a further 12% said they didn’t

know there was any) There was a strong variation by age, with the under 25’s much less likely to use the canals



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In what ways they use the rivers/canals and towpath? 286 people answered this question and there was a predictable variety of uses Uses included walking (72%), boating (16%), fishing (7%), jogging (15%), education (6%),

living afloat (3%), cycling (29%) other responses included enjoying the nature and wildlife, picnics, socialising, dog walking,

parties, commuting, photography

How much do they know about the history of the local area and the rivers/canals?

21% know a reasonable amount (7% said a lot and 14% said quite a bit) 32% said they know a little 47% said they do not know about it (27% said not much and 20% said nothing at all) There was strong variation by age with older residents knowing more about the history of

the local area and canals e.g. 22% of 40-59 yr olds said either a lot or quite a bit, compared to 17% of

25-39 yr olds and 10% of 16-24 yr olds



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What facilities and resources might different user groups want as part of the CRL community space? We asked this question in the surveys and the focus groups and interviews What sorts of things would help make it a great community space?

There was a range of ideas, and the clear conclusion is that for it to be a genuinely great community space it will need things that appeal to different parts of the community.

Things people said included: holding events (63%), places to relax (60%), picnic tables (60%), activities for kids (65%), having learning opportunities (48%), local art (45%)

other ideas included “music, theatre, cooking, films, water sport and competitions” “performance (as in Edinburgh festival)” “boat tours for the public” “hosting local festivals” “natural spaces, conservation, wild flowers etc” “BBQ sites” “places to study” “pond dipping, catching little things” “opportunity for residents to create their own classes, clubs etc and use the

community space” “accessible to people with disabilities”

There was not very significant variation by age There very little variation by gender

Education Providers

All schools specified the need for educational outcomes linked to visiting the site, where there was a direct link to the curriculum, incorporating cross curricular activities and extra curricular activities and entrepreneurial activities:

One teacher suggested it needs more than just a historical ‘sell’ to kids and suggested activities like the basement of the Science Museum which is interactive and ‘zingy, zappy’; perhaps outdoor gym.

Others said they would be interested in - boat tours; markets; canal tours; children’s theatre

boats. These exist but not locally so if they were nearer then their kids could get involved

One idea for an activity was that children could dress up in costumes and re-enact a scene from history. Teachers could take their classes there to do some activity like this. “Something local would be a big thing for them”

Street Focus Group: Here are some creative and practical suggestions from the street focus groups:

Events and activities to promote healthier lifestyles and living, outdoor gyms and food projects and relaxation areas for wellbeing or community shared spaces

Jobs and anything to do with jobs, training and skills leading to guaranteed sustainable employment



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Research funding into historical and heritage of waterways More night life and evening events, night tours, drinking venues, locally run restaurants,

cafes and bars, performance and theatre Disability facilities, children’s activities and better transport links- all affordable or free Toilets, baby changing, cafes for tea, food and water, shops. Mobile cafes, street trading

and markets licenses, bird and ecological shops, parkways links and route maps Swimming and water sports engagement, football, rowing, indoor tennis Youth oriented and mental health supportive Rain and sun shelter designed into spaces and outdoor sunbathing, poor weather is a

barrier CRT Focus Group: Here are some creative and practical suggestions from this group:

Performance space Festival of stories of the local area Holding annual events – creating new traditions Growing project – unites people and references the allotments that were lost Ensuring the place is also an escape from the hustle and bustle of the park – tranquillity Water focus activity – boat festival / floating cinema



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Is there interest in being part of existing volunteering schemes and what would motivate people to do this? We asked several questions in the survey that linked to volunteering and this research question. They were:

Do you have experience of volunteering? Have you ever volunteered as part of a waterways project? Would you like to find out about local volunteering opportunities? Would you like to receive updates about future developments and opportunities? What could help motivate you to be involved in community projects/activities on the

rivers/canals? Experience of Volunteering

18% currently volunteering 47% had volunteered in the past 35% have never volunteered 6% have volunteered for a waterways project before

Would they like to find out about local volunteering opportunities?

48% said yes and 52% said no some variation by age (e.g.: 44% of 16-24 yr olds said yes, compared to 56% of over 60’s) small variation by gender: 51% of women said yes, compared to 46% of men

Which areas could they be interested in hearing about volunteering opportunities?

174 people answered this question and there was a range of responses. The top response was river and canal at 45%

There was some variation by age (e.g. 61% of over 60’s said river/canal, compared to 55% of 40-59 yr olds, 44% of 25-39 yr olds and 30% of 16-24 yr olds)



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What could motivate them to be involved in community projects/activity on the rivers/canals? There were different motivations that appealed to people. Some were intrinsic motivators and others were extrinsic. It would be a good idea to promote opportunities in relation to the wider motivators rather than stressing the waterways or the heritage aspects.

Intrinsic motivators o 47% said to feel more a part of the community o 40% said “wanting to make a difference” o 17% said increase confidence

Extrinsic motivators o 28% said improve job prospects o 19% said incentives o 20% said to gain a qualification o 30% said to learn new skills o 23% said to improve my health o 32% said to improve the environment



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There was some variation by age, e.g. people over age 60 more motivated by improving health (32% as opposed to general average of 23%)

There was very little variation by gender



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How would community members and schools like to learn about the CRL and the local waterways heritage (e.g. events, apps, resources, walking tours, boat tours)? It is clear that in order to provide learning pathways for a wide range of people, diverse methods will be needed. There was overwhelming interest in learning about the CRL and local waterways and strong interest in a variety of ways to do this. In what ways might they like to be able to access info about the history of the local area?

48% said walking tours 41% said apps 33% said info booklets 42% said events 27% said activities for children 13% said video 34% said signage / information other responses included

o “open days” o “boat tours” o “tourist information place” o “website” o “lecture discussion” o “podcasts” o “online information portal” o “info in free newspapers” o “internet – with translation”



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There was some variation by age e.g. over 25’s more keen on walking tours and over 60’s significantly more likely to say videos than any other age group

There was not major variation by gender, except for men were more likely to say

signage/information than women (40% compared to 29%) CRT Focus Group The group had many interesting ideas for resources that would be useful, with key messages of it is “important to be communicating across different ages and cultures” and there is a “need to communicate an old story to a new generation” and a need to hear from “your generation and in your language”. Ideas included:

Ideas include: storytelling; arts; information points; open days; boat trips; walking tours – linking to existing tours as well as new ones; activities and events; oral histories; Apps: “make your own guided tour” [could this be a competition?]; interactive signage; space for discussion; links to national and international interests; take advantage of “headphone culture”



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Other data There were various questions we asked in respect of knowledge of the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK and awareness of the features and things to do there, as well as whether they had been to the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK ever, and if so in what capacity. Awareness of where the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK is

49% were reasonably aware (37% said very aware 12% said quite aware) 12% a little aware 39% not aware (7% said not really aware, 12% said not at all aware)

o 20% said what is the Queen Eliz Olympic Park

There was some variation by length of time connected to the area o eg 36% of people who had been there less than a year said they were very or quite

aware, compared to 61% of people who had been there for more than 20 years o 15% of people who had been there over 20 years did not know what the QUEEN

ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK was and another 6% were not at all aware of where it was

Awareness of features and things to do at the QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK

There was variable awareness of opportunities: o 17% said they were very aware, 10% said quite aware and 20% said a little

53% were not aware (20% said not really and 33% said not at all) There was very little variation by gender



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Had they been to the park?

40% had been to the park and 60% had not been to the park

In what capacity people had been to the park Of the 161 people who had been in the park before

o 77% had been there in Games time o 15% had been on a bus tour o 17% had been there as part of work o 1% had been there with their school



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In Conclusion…..

This project provided us an opportunity to have conversations with people of all ages, backgrounds and types. We were very aware that for most of them this was the first time that they had been consulted with, and that the experience of being sought out and listened to had its own value. People were happy to talk and very often we were needing to manage their enthusiasm to engage with us and the subject matter, and conversations ranged way beyond the immediate focus of the surveys as they became inspired. There is undoubtably a genuine interest in the river, the heritage of the area and of the lock itself. The community space is an exciting vision that people were quick to grasp and keen to see happen. In order to capitalise on the potential for community involvement a wide range of opportunities will need to be created, that can appeal to different people. There will be no one-size-fits all solutions, and given the rich diversity of the communities this will need to be reflected in the opportunities. There are strong local assets, skills and energies, much of them un-tapped, and these can contribute at all levels to a project like this to make it a genuine collaboration. We beleive that there is no point in doing consultation when you can do engagement, and for us this project was at its heart about engaging people to believe that their voice mattered and that they could play a role in making their community stronger. The fact that so many people have provided their contact details is an indication of the success in this respect and we hope that they will be contacted, to be thanked for their contribution of time and thought, and to invite them to become more involved. We wish you every success in moving forward with this very exciting project.



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Appendix 1 – The Survey Questionnaire



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Documents

C&RT Carpenters Road Lock Engagement - Official Site · PDF fileREPORT on the Community Engagement and Consultation about Carpenters Road Lock For The Canal and River Trust August